


Alone Time

by Wrenvibes



Category: Gargoyles (Cartoon)
Genre: Caretaking, Fever, Friendship, Gen, Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22216450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrenvibes/pseuds/Wrenvibes
Summary: Broadway is, for once, alone on guard at the Clocktower; Elisa returns before the others and figures out something isn’t quite right.
Relationships: Broadway & Elisa Maza
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Alone Time

Since winter had fallen on New York, everything had felt just slightly off for Broadway. Waking from stone sleep was just a little harder, his limbs and wings felt heavier... At first, he thought nothing of it. Gargoyles were meant to withstand harsh temperatures of either extreme; it made sense that his body would need some time to adjust to the season. Brooklyn and Lex had some of the same problems at first, but after a few days, theirs had mostly gone away- with the exception of Brooklyn’s particular sensitivity to cold. 

Broadway continued to tell himself he was just tired. It was just the weather, it would pass once he finally became acclimated, he was fine.... 

On this particularly icy winter’s night, Broadway had woken up _shivering_. Usually, the stone sleep made him feel robust and awake, ready to face whatever the clan would do that night. Now.... Every inch of him ached from exhaustion. His chest felt oddly tight, and his appetite was nowhere to be found. To put it simply, he didn’t feel good. The last time he’d felt so unwell was back at the castle, a few months before the siege, when he’d caught a human illness that had him sick for days. 

But he couldn’t be sick now. No. He was fine. Nothing was wrong with him, he was just a little tired. If he ate breakfast and took some time at the clocktower to relax and really wake up, he would be fine. Right?

He managed to shake off the heavy snow that had settled on his wings, his back, his arms. The others were yawning and stretching, already making plans for the night- Goliath, Hudson, and Bronx were raring to patrol an area of the city where strange disappearances had been taking place. It was a case that had been giving Elisa a _lot_ of trouble, and Broadway tried not to listen in too much as he brushed the last of the snow from his shoulders. 

“Broadway, Lex and I are gonna grab something to eat and go to the movies, you wanna come with?” Brooklyn’s question snapped Broadway out of his daze and he inhaled softly, looking down at him and pausing. On one hand, he wanted to spend time with his friends, but on the other, someone needed to watch the tower..... 

“You guys go ahead, I’m going to stay here. Somebody needs to watch the tower, right?” Broadway said, picking at his claws a little and not meeting his eyes.

Lex and Brooklyn both locked eyes for a minute and then looked back at him. 

“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Lex asked, nearly sounding nervous, and Broadway couldn’t really blame him. If Xanatos figured out there was only one of them at the clocktower, who knows what he would try to do. But Broadway just.... he just couldn’t tell them. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, Elisa’s gonna be here soon, remember? You can go ahead,” He tried not to seem like he was trying to hide something, keeping his voice level and calm. With a moment’s hesitation and glance back, the two flew off into the night. Broadway sighed quietly, and Hudson turned to him, reaching out one had to touch his shoulder. 

“Lex is right, lad- if you’d rather I stay here with you, I’m sure Goliath and Bronx will be just fine on their own,” At hearing his name, Goliath nodded to him. 

“Yes, we would. These temperatures alone ensure that most humans are less of an issue,” Goliath said, and Broadway knew that he was right. That being said, Goliath on his own tended to be reckless to a fault, and without Elisa or Hudson there to keep an eye on him... 

“I don’t mind, I’ll be okay by myself. If anything happens, I’ll go get Brooklyn and Lex. I don’t want to keep you guys, I know this case is a big deal,” He was getting steadily colder- at this point, he really just wanted to get inside, even if the others thought he was acting weird. 

“Be careful, Broadway. Elisa should arrive within a few hours or so, there should be little trouble, but stay on alert.” Goliath nodded to him, and Hudson sighed. 

“Take care of yourself, lad. We won’t be gone terribly long, everything should be alright.” And with that, the remaining two gargoyles (and Bronx) swiftly departed into the bruise-black sky, the low and muddying clouds obscuring them from view within a few minutes. Finally, Broadway was alone.

Normally, it wasn’t like him to be by himself. He was around Brooklyn and Lexington almost constantly- when he wasn’t around them, he was with the rest of his clan, or Elisa. The humans had a word for that- an extrovert? Broadway was a people person, and he would get lonely easily when nobody else was around. 

Now, though, the snow was coming down in heavy sheets, and Broadway was shivering again. He immediately walked into the interior of the clocktower and shut the door behind him, exhaling. There had to be something- some way here he could get warm, this was awful. Gargoyles didn’t have much of a need for clothes, usually, but every inch of his skin burned with the cold of snow melting. The interior of the clocktower was warmer than outside, but it was old and drafty, trails of icy air raking over Broadway’s skin and making him shiver. 

What was wrong with him? He didn’t even want to hang out with Brooklyn and Lex, his whole body was trembling as opposed to his usual steady strength. At first he’d thought he simply needed breakfast, but his stomach rolled at the idea of food. His skin was prickling and chilled, like there were thousands of ants swarming all over him.

He didn’t bother heading down the stairs, instead opting to sit down right where he was. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure how far he’d have made it if he’d tried- it felt like his head was stuffed with cotton balls. Everything was fuzzy, and he didn’t trust his own ability to stand well enough to get up again. Broadway’s vision swam with a blur of dim color and he closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself and resting his head back against the wall. 

His awareness drifted in and out as he shivered fitfully in the empty tower. Why had he come up with the idea of staying here by himself? He couldn’t sit up straight, let alone fight off Xanatos or his robots. 

Finally, Broadway decided the exhaustion was too much. He curled up on his side the best he could, his wings wrapped around himself like a blanket. It didn’t help him very much- whatever had him feeling so unwell was relentless, his body prickling all over with chills. Despite all of this, he was exhausted, and within minutes the fog of sleep took him. His last thought before he fell asleep was that he desperately hoped one of his friends would be here soon. 

Darkness.

Everything was so cold, and silent, and empty... Where was he? Had be been taken, had Xanatos kidnapped him?  
Broadway whimpered, trying to rub at his eyes, trying to see where he was- he couldn’t see anything- _oh, oh god-_  
He felt sick, his whole body was freezing cold and he felt like he was falling-  
 _falling_ \- why wouldn’t his wings-   
There was a muffled noise, something from the distance, but he couldn’t hear what it was. Again, but louder- was someone calling for him..?

“Broadway!” The sound of his own name was enough for Broadway to violently gasp awake, limbs flailing, eyes wild. His vision was a blur, he couldn’t see anything, but there was a shape beside him, someone kneeling over him. “Hey, hey, bud, take it easy,” He recognized the sound of Elisa’s voice, the gentle touch of her palm against his cheek. “What happened? Are you ok? Where are the others?”

Broadway tried to answer, tried to manage a single word, but his vocal chords felt all frozen. He let out a small cough of pain instead, and tried to move to sit up. Bad decision- it felt like his brain had been put in a blender. The movement had cold sweat forming on his brow, and his churning stomach only made him feel worse. His breath was wheezing in his lungs, his chest aching.

Everything went blurry and he felt hands on his wrist, tugging him back to the floor. “Ok, ok, clearly that’s not gonna work,” Elisa’s voice was a little fuzzy, and he heard her sigh. “You need to take it easy, okay? Nice deep breaths, keep it nice and calm,” She sat with him for a minute, and held his hand the whole time. He followed her instructions, and after a few minutes managed to settle his mind. 

“Ok, I’m gonna ask you some questions. How about you tap once for yes, twice for no, mkay?” Broadway nodded, and did his absolute best to pay attention to what she was saying. “Did somebody attack you?” Two taps. “Do you know where the others are?” One tap. “Are they ok?” One tap. “Are you okay?” Two taps. At his answer to that question, Elisa sighed. “Ok, big guy, can you sit up for me? No rush, I just think it might help, get you breathing a little better,” Her voice was gentler than he’d ever heard it, and he nodded weakly.

Broadway slowly pushed himself into a sitting position with shaking arms. It felt like his limbs had turned to jello. Finally, he managed to move to a sitting position, his vision swirling as he took deep, heavy breaths. A particularly deep breath spurred a coughing fit, his shoulders trembling. He felt the warm, almost hot press of the back of Elisa’s hand to his forehead, and the temperature difference made him shiver. She exhaled sharply and withdrew her hand, sitting forward and looking him in the eyes. Elisa gently set one hand on his cheek, and slowly his vision focused on her. Her mouth was set in a small frown, her brow furrowed. 

“Broadway, I’ve never asked before- can Gargoyles get sick?” She asked, and he sighed. Of course, the second he let his guard down he went down hard. It took all he had, but he was able to clear his throat and muster an answer. 

“Yeah- _nnnhh_.. we can,” He said, his throat scratching and aching at the effort. “S’ not easy, but...” 

“Okay, I was afraid of that. You’re running a _really_ bad fever, it’s no wonder you’re shivering so much,” Elisa said, and sighed. “I’m gonna bring you some water and some blankets, okay? Stay here, I’ll be back soon.” With that, Elisa got to her feet, and with one glance back at Broadway she descended the steps, eventually exiting his field of vision. 

Broadway didn’t know how he could be running a fever. He still felt freezing cold, and his vision kept flickering in and out. But it hurt so much, maybe she was right- he couldn’t be well if he felt like this. His stomach was turning again, his mouth was dry.. His body ached all over, chills running up and down his spine. He exhaled shakily, and wished that his clan was here.

Brooklyn and Lex- even at the very thought of them he let out a small whimper. He wanted them here, they would take care of him. Lex would ask him about all of his symptoms, and Brooklyn would curl into his side, trying to talk him into feeling better. He might rub his back, too, or nuzzle against him with his beak. Lex would join them, probably nestled between the two with his head on Broadway’s chest. If he got tired or too chilled, they would gladly curl up with him so he could sleep.... 

Broadway felt his eyes welling up, a lump forming in his throat as he thought of the two of them. Right around then, Elisa came back up the stairs, a large blanket over her shoulder and a glass of water clutched in her hand. 

“Broadway?” She said, sitting down beside him. At that point, he couldn’t help it. A harsh sob tore from his throat, hot tears spilling down his cheeks. “Oh shit- hey, it’s okay...” Elisa set the glass down and handed the blanket to Broadway. He snuggled into it, gasping for air and whimpering as he wrapped it around himself. It was a little small for a gargoyle, but in combination with his wings it was enough to make him feel a little better. “There you go, that should help- can you tell me what’s wrong?” Elisa sat forward, looking into his eyes, but he refused to meet her gaze. His shoulders heaved with every choked sob, hiccupy and muffled as he put his head in his hands. 

“Want- _hhhhnnnh_ \- I wan’ Lex n’ Brooklyn—“ his voice was choked and teary, and Elisa took one of his hands, her hand small and warm in his. 

“Oh, Broadway- shhhh, it’s okay.. they’re gonna be back soon, ok?” He felt the weight of Elisa’s hand on his back between his shoulder blades, and she rubbed in small circles, making little shushing sounds. “It’s ok....” He let his head fall gently to her shoulder. Each breath spurred on sharp little coughs that burned his throat. His shoulders still shook with fitful sobs, gulping air and whimpering. 

“I need- need them, Elisa, I- I wan’ them t’take care of me- m’so sorry, I’m _sorry_ —“ Broadway choked out, and she sat forward, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. 

“Broadway, you don’t have to apologize. You love them, they love you- it makes sense you’d want them here to take care of you,” She said, reaching up to gently brush his tears away. He nodded shakily, his chest heaving. She was right. And.. they would be here soon, the movie couldn’t be that long, could it? He wanted to believe that, anyway. “It’ll be okay. I promise,” His tears slowly started to subside as he took ragged but steady breaths. All of this crying had really tired him out, and now all he wanted was to get some sleep again. 

“I think I’m gonna go back to sleep,” He said, his voice still a little ragged. Elisa gave him one more squeeze before pulling back, a small smile on her face. She handed him the glass of water.

“Here, I want you to drink some before you get some sleep, okay? You’ll feel better, I promise,” Elisa said, and Broadway didn’t protest. “Drink it slow.” He followed her instructions, taking small sips of water until he’d finished the glass. She was right- he felt just a little better.

Now, he curled up on his side again, tucking his blanket and his wings around himself as closely as possible. His body felt so heavy, so tired, that he knew it wouldn’t take him long. “I’ll be here when you wake up, okay? The others will get back soon.” Elisa set a hand on his shoulder, then settled to sit beside him, and Broadway closed his eyes. Within minutes, he let sleep take him, knowing that he would be safe with her by his side. 


End file.
